Forever.

Chapter 11: Did he?

Claire's P.O.V. (The next day)

I open my eyes and the sun blinds me. I look next to me and see Braden is asleep. I place my hand on his shoulder and gently rub it. He takes a deep breath and opens his eyes.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I ask.

He coughs in response.

"Do you want anything?" I ask.

He shakes his head no.

"Do you need anything?" I ask.

He shakes his head no.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" I ask.

He nods yes.

"Okay." I say.

He gives me a lazy smirk and sleep takes him away. I continue to gently rub his shoulder and he falls into deeper sleep, I know because his breathing changes. I stand up to go get him another water bottle, but when I get to the fridge I see that we're out. We're also out of granola bars as well as medicine.

I guess I have to go to the store.

I change out of the hooker dress and into shorts with a green shirt that used to be Jake's. I take off the makeup and decide to just go natural, it's not like it matters.

I find some paper and leave him a note just in case he wakes up while I'm gone.

Braden,

I'm at the store getting some more water bottles and medicine. I'll be back in a little bit.

Claire

I leave the note on the coffee table so he will see it if he wakes up. I lean down and lightly kiss his forehead as I lightly run my fingers through his hair.

"I'll be back soon." I whisper. I carefully grab my wallet and leave. I walk to the elevator and press the button to go to the lobby. The elevator gets to the bottom and I step out.

I walk to the store pretty quickly. I open the door and I get a few stares, and I don't know why. I brush them off and continue to the back of the store. I find the aisle with the water bottles, so I grab a case. It's heavier than I thought it would be. I begin to walk in the other direction.

"Excuse me." I hear from behind me. I turn around and see a boy who's shorter than me. His face tells me he's young, and he look about eight years old. He's wearing a UCLA jersey with matching shorts. His light brown skin compliments his light brown eyes and dark brown hair.

"Hi." I say with a smile.

"Ar-Are you Claire Foster?" He asks with a shy look in his eyes.

"Yes. Can I help you?" I ask with a friendly smile.

"I saw your interview on ESPN yesterday." He says as he looks down.

"You did?" I ask.

"Yeah. The reporters said that you're Braden Smith's girlfriend, is that true?" He asks as he looks back up.

"Yes it is." I say with a small smile.

"I really like UCLA's basketball team. Braden is my favorite." He says.

"Really? That's so cool." I say.

"Yeah. Look." He says with a smile. He turns around and his jersey has the number fourteen on it with Braden's last name written across the top.

"That's amazing." I say.

"Yeah, I'm Braden's biggest fan. I know everything about him, but not in the creepy way, though." He says with an embarrassed smile.